Abortion bill dies after late-night chaos, confusion

Capping a chaotic end of the special legislative session, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said early Wednesday that proposed abortion restrictions didn’t pass after all.

The abortion requirements were in Senate Bill 5, which was called up for a vote that couldn’t be heard over shouting and screaming from opponents in the gallery. Sen. Dan Patrick, a Houston Republican pushing the legislation, had said the bill passed.

But Democrats disputed that, saying the action was taken after the required midnight end of the special session. Patrick had said the vote was started before midnight.

The vote was taken after a filibuster to try to kill it by Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, was abruptly ended when Dewhurst upheld objections that she hadn’t strictly abided by filibuster rules, a disputed assessment.

Dewhurst’s announcement that the bill failed came after 3 a.m., following a Senate caucus meeting.

Dewhurst

“Regrettably, the constitutional time for the first called session of the 83rd Legislature has expired. Senate Bill 5 cannot be signed in the presence of the Senate at this time. Therefore, it cannot be enrolled,” Dewhurst said.

He added, “It’s been fun, but see ya soon.”

Gov. Rick Perry can call another special session, but he had not said by Tuesday night whether he would.

Dewhurst’s announcement was another twist in a wild ride of a day in which Davis’ filibuster drew national attention as opponents of the bill swarmed in the Capitol and filled the gallery.

The opponents were generally calm during the debate, but when Davis’ filibuster was forced to end and Patrick called for a vote on SB5, they erupted. Senators and Dewhurst couldn’t be heard.

Dewhurst called the group “an unruly mob” using “Occupy Wall Street” tactics to kill a bill that he said was meant to protect lives and women’s safety. He had previously suggested in a tweet that the bill was meant to essentially ban abortion.

Opponents celebrated. They said they were fighting the bill because they wanted to protect women’s rights and preserve their access to safe, legal abortions.

SB5 would have banned abortion starting at 20 weeks in the pregnancy. It also would have imposed tighter restrictions on abortion clinics, forcing them to meet ambulatory surgical center standards, which opponents of the bill said would cause mass closure of the facilities. It would have required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges within 30 miles, and it would have set out new regulations for administering abortion-inducing drugs.

Moments after Dewhurst declared that the proposal did not pass, a group of Senate Democrats took to the Capitol rotunda to celebrate with pro-choice advocates.